Top Judiciary Republican Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia just made his move on Schiff, stating clearly,
“My first and foremost witness is Adam Schiff.”
Appearing on Fox News, Collins called out Schiff, who has “compared himself in the past to special counsel.”
Collins noted that if Schiff wants to be that way, he should act like it, and special counsel Ken Starr testified during the impeachment hearing of Bill Clinton.
He then cut right to it,
“[Schiff] has put himself into that position. If he chooses not to [testify], then I really have to question his veracity in what he’s putting in his report.”
Watch for yourself in these clips on Twitter:
Rep. Collins followed up his appearance with this tweet:
Do you agree with Rep. Collins?
Is Adam Schiff the most important witness?
The Hill has more to say:
Rep. Doug Collins (Ga.), the top GOP member of the House Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is the most important witness Republicans want to question in the upcoming phase of the impeachment inquiry.
“My first and foremost witness is Adam Schiff,” Collins said on “Fox News Sunday,” also noting that Schiff had “compared himself in the past to a special counsel” and that then-special prosecutor Ken Starr testified during the GOP-controlled House’s impeachment of former President Clinton.
"[Schiff] has put himself into that position," Collins added. "If he chooses not to [testify], then I really have to question his veracity in what he’s putting in his report."
"It’s easy to hide behind a report," Collins said. "But it’s going to be another thing to actually get up and have to answer questions."
Politico also said:
Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) said Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee would have House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff testify in their impeachment hearing and claimed the parameters of the impeachment investigation were skewed against the president.
"If he chooses not to" testify, Collins said Sunday of Schiff (D-Calif.), "then I really question his veracity in what he's putting in his report."
The Intelligence Committee is expected to release its report on its impeachment investigation Monday. If the committee votes Tuesday to approve the findings, the Judiciary Committee will begin hearings Wednesday to draft articles of impeachment. Collins is the ranking Republican on the Judiciary panel.
Speaking with host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday,“ Collins complained that Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) gave Republicans on his committee an unrealistic timeline to digest the findings of the Intelligence Committee's report. Collins said Nadler gave them until Friday to present a list of witnesses to testify, which he said was too soon after the expected release of Schiff's findings.
"Why are they hiding the stuff from us?" Collins said. "If they think they have such a case, give us all the materials and don't let Jerry Nadler write a crazy letter that says on the 6th, let us know who your witnesses are. We don't even have the information from the Intel Committee yet. This is why this is a problematic exercise and simply a made-for-TV event coming on Wednesday."
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